Forbidden Desires
by Your Guardian Angel98
Summary: Gemma is now living a normal life in New York, well as normal as life can be for her. Until she becomes haunted by dreams of Katrik, returning to the Realms she discovers all is not well. This exciting story picks up six months after The Sweet Far Thing.
1. Chapter 1

**Forbidden Desires-Chapter 1**

"It has been too long Most High, we've been waiting for you." Asha's voice called.

"I know." I hear myself reply.

"We've been waiting for you, it's time."

"Time for what?"

"To combine the magic." A different voice answered, a voice that instantly forced me to choke up tears.

"Katrik?" I whispered. Swift as wind he was behind me nuzzling my neck.

"It's me Gemma." His angelic voice whispered into my hair.

"But…but the Tree of Souls…it…it claimed you! I saw! The magic took hold of you!" I choked out in-between sobs.

"Ssshhh, it's okay Gemma. All is well…all is well."

"But how?"

"I returned the magic to the land, and now I'm free. We can finally be together." Relief rushed in, I couldn't breath. Laughing, crying, it didn't matter anymore! All was well now, Katrik was here, the Realms were safe, and nothing could go wrong.

"Gemma…Gemma…Gemma…" his voice mumbled into my ear in between kisses.

"MISS DOYLE! MISS DOYLE! GUEST 'OR YER'!" Suddenly the Realms, Asha, and most important Katrik dissolved and I was back alone in my small room in America. I cleared my throat in an attempt to wash away the late night crying from my voice.

"Yes Mrs. Counter, thank you. Um if you'll just give me a moment to gather myself." I quickly threw on the dress closest to my feet, it was the same dress I wore the night all in the Realms broke lose…

The taste of tears still burned in my mouth, I washed my tear stained face and threw open my window curtains. It must have been nearly noon, ever since that faithful day in the Realms I had fallen into the nasty habit of sleeping as long as possible and spending my hours awake wandering aimlessly like a soulless phantom when I wasn't in classes at the University. It was a meaningless and pointless existence, yet it was an existence… which was more than others had. Circe, Miss McCleethy, my mother, Katrik…

"Miss yer' bes' not be doin' tha'!" Mrs. Counter's voice called as my room door burst open.

"I am Felicity Worthington, I do believe me and my companion have waited long enough and I'm sure Miss Doyle will understand." After her rant Felicity shifted her gaze to me and broke into a smile. "Gemma!"

"Fee!" I screamed as she wrapped me in a hug, it wasn't until then that I saw Ann standing in the doorway.

"Ann!" I cried as I pulled her into the hug. It wasn't long before we were all giggling and talking at once like our days at Spence.

"You both look so well!"

"Thank you, how do you like my dress?" Fee said as she spun around. It was a fearsome sight! Possibly the most scandalous dress I had ever seen! It was a strapless lavender dress that slowly opened up from the hips down, the opening-growing larder as it went down the dress.

"Fee! Are you even wearing a corset!?!" I exclaimed once my shock had subsided. Felicity let out a light laugh.

"No! I shall never where a corset again! Compliments of the French!"

"Oh Fee you are simply horrid!" Ann scowled, a full blush consuming her whole face.

"Yes, yes I know and I shall rot in Hell for all of eternity and all that other nonsense we learned in school. But I'm not the only one! I hear that a certain acquaintance of ours is courting with a certain Charlie Smalls the composer of Merry Maidens!" Felicity retorted staring at Ann. Ann's blush deepened and she quickly looked down.

"Ann! Oh that is simply wonderful! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations! So I take it that show business is going well?" I asked.

"Yes, yes thank you." Ann said raising her head slightly allowing her joy to escape from her emotionless mask temporarily. "But how about you? How have you been Gemma?" I know what she really meant. She was really asking _how have you been since Katrik's death?_ But I didn't want to talk about it, ever. I didn't even want to think of it but I was burdened with the memory of him sacrificing himself to the Tree of Souls to rescue me for life.

"Oh I'm fine, the University here is simply lovely and father sends me post from India nearly everyday, he's living there now you know. It's…it's nice."

"And the Realms?"

"I haven't been since…" I let the words die in my mouth there.

"Oh." Ann replied quietly realizing she had struck a nerve.

After a painful silence Felicity cut in. "Well there's no time like the present." She said rising from my bed.

"Fee-" Ann tried to cut in but Felicity's mind was already made up. She wanted to go to the Realms and she wanted to go now.

"No, no Ann it's quite alright. Fee's right, we'll go to the Realms…tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

**Forbidden Desires- Chapter 2**

The Realms were almost completely restored to their former glory. The garden was in bloom and you could feel the magic pulsing through the land. Felicity and Ann immediately ran through the new field of flows laughing and playing as they turned flowers to jewels. As we neared the river I caught my breath. Asha was standing on the river's edge in the exact same spot she was in my dream. Breathe Gemma, breathe it was only a dream, nothing more, Katrik is dead, you saw, you saw.

"It's been too long Most High, we've been waiting for you." My heart jumped to my throat, my blood rushed through my veins like fire, too hard, too fast. I can't breathe. The world is growing black and I feel as if I might swoon.

"I know." I hear myself reply though I do not remember forming the words.

"We've been waiting for you, it's time."

'Time for what?" I held my breath waiting for the response but once it came it was not Katrik's voice that answered, disappointment flooded in completely numbing me of all feeling and emotion in the process.

"All is not safe in the Realms." Asha said calm as the ocean.

"What do you mean? We defeated the Winterland creatures! Took control of the Tree of Souls!" My voice cracked thinking of the Tree of Souls.

"Yes but the barrier between the two worlds, your world and the Realms, is still broken. It won't be long before the ability to cross between the two worlds is abused."

"I will rebuild the barrier later, first there is something I must see." I ran towards the Winterland, leaving a confused Asha and the laughing Felicity and Ann behind.

Away from the garden's intoxicating air I was able to clear my mind and think more clearly. My dream didn't come true, Katrik isn't here, he didn't come, he's dead…he's dead…that's it…he's gone forever. The cold hard truth hit like a ton of bricks all at once. I fell to the floor sobbing, I can't breath…he's gone…dead…that's really it…. the end. I realized that while I knew it was just a dream I wanted it to be more…I wanted it to be real more than anything else in this world. I wanted him.

Once my crying subsided I my usual path to the Winterland. As I neared the wall of priestesses that had been sacrificed to the Tree of Souls I slowed down and stopped at Circe. Circe, my former teacher Miss Hester Moore, had been the original cause of all the chaos in the Realms. When her and my mother tried to sacrifice the gypsy girl Caroline my mother had second thoughts and killed the girl before the evil Winterland tracker could get her ruining the sacrifice. Angry, the tracker demanded that Circe and my mother pay the sacrifice since he could no longer use the girl. Eugenia Spence, founder of Spence Academy and leader of the Order, gave up herself to the tracker in exchange for the girls' freedom. Once the tracker had her she was taken to the Winterlands where she was binded to the Tree of Souls, the source of the Winterland creatures' magic, she was eventually corrupted so much so that she led the Winterland creatures in a rebellion with me as their first target. I had believed Circe, my original enemy, had been behind the rebellion until I arrived at the Tree of Souls to destroy it and discovered that she had tried to save me by destroying the Tree of Souls…well I was her third reason for her attempt to destroy the Tree. Her attempt failed and she was killed, I had to destroy the tree myself, but I was wounded in the process letting my blood fall on the tree's roots. The tree attempted to take hold of me but it was only prevented when Katrik sacrificed himself to the tree to spare my life. As I looked at Circe's face, now a monument, in the Realms and touched my hand to her cheek I didn't see Circe my enemy, I saw Miss Hester Moore my beloved friend and teacher. The wind rustled but it almost sounded as if it were saying "thank you…"

I continued on my way through the Winterlands not stopping or slowing down once till I reached it. It loomed in front of me like a giant shadow of a beast, seeking to devour me. It appeared exactly the same as it had always had but that was just it, it only _appeared_ to be the same. I knew it's past, I knew what had happened there, I knew who's spirit lied inside it now and it turned my blood cold and made breathing nearly impossible. "You must do this Gemma, you must. You know you have to." I muttered to myself through my clenched jaw. With a deep breath and closed eyes I walked forward and knelt at the tree. Tears began to blur my eyes; I instantly wiped them away angry and ashamed that I even allowed them to fall. Without thinking I grabbed the tree and I was pulled in. Suddenly I was no longer in the Winterlands, I was in the same place Eugenia Spence took me my first trip to the Tree of Souls.

"Gemma?" a confused voice asked. I stopped breathing. Stopped moving. I was too frightened to move. To scared that if I made just the slightest movement that he would vanish into thin air.

"Katrik?" I whispered. We stared at each other silent for a few moments, tension in the air until neither of us could bare it anymore and we ran to each other and embraced. He smelled just as I remembered him, his hair, his body, everything enveloping me all at once. I allowed the tears to trickle down my cheeks as he held me. "I've missed you so much."

"I know, I'm so sorry Gemma, about everything. I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted to save you." His voice sang in my ear as he wiped my eyes and started to stroke my hair. "I haven't stopped thinking about you either."

"How…how…"

"How am I still here?"

"Yes. I thought…I thought that when you sacrificed yourself to the Tree of Souls that you were…killed."

"Well it would seem that way, wouldn't it?" He paused for what seemed like an eternity, "No I didn't die, as long as my spirit lives I live. I'm binded to the magic of the tree. The magic and I are one. I protect it now making sure that it is not misused by the Winterland creatures again."

"So my dream it can come true! You can leave the Realms!"

"Gemma what are you talking about?"

"In my dream you left the Tree of Souls! You returned the magic to the land as I did and the tree let you go! And we left together! Don't you see! We can leave the Realms and be together forever if you just return the magic to the land!" His face feel and he remained silent. "What's wrong?"

"I can't leave Gemma." He whispered.

"What? No! But my dream!"

"Was just a dream!" he screamed turning his back to me. I became silent in shock. He turned back to me but his face had changed, his anger was replaced with frustration, hurt…fear. "Gemma…" he ran his fingers through his dark curls and left them there, "I can return the magic to the land and return to the world with you but I won't." his words were like a hard slap to the face and he knew it.

"What?"

"Gemma, Gemma love…" he moved in and held my face "protecting the magic in the Winterlands and guarding the Tree of Souls is my destiny now, it is my duty. I can't just abandon my responsibilities. I have to stay here in the Realms. I shall not fail…not this time." Run. That's all I could do. I ran.

"Gemma! Gemma!" his voice called, drawing me in. I wanted to stay. I wanted him to hold me and to hear that voice whisper in my ear all day but a stronger part of me knew I couldn't and pulled me ahead. I had to get away I had to get away quickly. I had to run away from my shame and embarrassment, my anger and disappointment. The flood of emotions that was now drowning me. How could he? How dare he! I hate him! I love him! I miss him! I desperately need him! I never want to see him again! All these thoughts rushing in at once, fighting each other to the end. Tears burned my eyes and my legs ached but I just had to keep running. I neared the garden but I didn't slow down.

"Gemma? Gemma!" Felicity and Ann called, but I didn't hear. All I could hear was that same thing over and over, what Katrik had said, "I have to stay here in the Realms" those words stung and burned at the same time, like a fire in my brain. But they would not be silenced, the same sentence over and over again just kept ringing "I have to stay here in the Realms", "I have to stay here in the Realms", "I have to stay-

"Gemma! Gemma!" Felicity and Ann were now running with me.

"Gemma what's wrong?" Ann asked trying to reach for my arm but I pulled away.

"We have to leave at once." Before they could protest I grabbed their hands and made the door of light appear.

Back in the safety of the real world I hid under my bed covers for days crying. I had come to realize that losing the one you love is not the most pain you can experience, for having the one you love within reach but forbidden to you is by far more painful. Katrik is within my reach in the Realms, I am able to be with him whenever I choose. He can even come back to me whenever he chooses. So there it is, the forbidden fruit. He is within reach like the fruit on the tree in the Garden of Eden yet I cannot take him just as Eve cannot eat the fruit. Both tempting and both unattainable, is this how Eve felt? Is that why she was driven to take the fruit? I do not know but I do know that it hurt. A deep searing unimaginable pain had been borne in me and it was there to stay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Forbidden Desires- Chapter 3 (Felicity's POV)**

"Gemma has been in her room for days!" I cried out before falling to the guest room floor in a dramatic heap.

"Fee, have some compassion. She hasn't been to the Realms since Katrik's death. Obviously she couldn't handle it." Ann reprimanded. Ann's new found success on stage had given her a new and bolder sort of air, I didn't like it.

"Well neither have I! Everyone seems to forget that I lost Pippa that day as well! But you move on. I will love again." I choked out suppressing a sob.

"Try to understand Felicity, Gemma is not as strong as you." With that Ann ended the conversation and returned to her needlework. She really could have been a good governess reprimanding me like that! She can be so intolerable sometimes! She's always babying Gemma and sticking up for her it wasn't fair! Gemma is quite trying at times too. She's so weak and moody. Not to mention she's selfish! When she had all the magic in the Realms she had to be forced to share it's power and when she didn't have it all she would pout. I deserved the power more than she did! And now that she's again pouting over Katrik so I can't even return to the Realms! Life could be so unfair at times.

"Felicity…Ann?" Gemma whispered from her bedroom doorframe. She had finally left her room but she still didn't look well. All the color was washed out from her countenance so she almost appeared translucent, the curls in her hair had gone limb and her frame appeared skeletal from her lack of eating.

"Oh Gemma darling! Please come here and sit next to me! You look so weak! Ann hurry and go get Gemma some tea and something to eat!" I exclaimed instantly regretting my earlier whininess on seeing Gemma's current fragile appearance. Gemma took a seat next to me while Ann re-entered the room carrying the tea tray.

"Here you go Gem." Ann said gently placing the tea cup in her hand. Ann and I sat there and studied her while she quietly ate and drank. After a few agonizing minutes of watching Gemma she finally spoke.

"Fee…Ann?"

"Yes Gemma Darling?" I whispered.

"You both know that you are my dearest closest friends don't you?"

"Yes of course Gemma Dear." Ann said resting a reassuring hand on Gemma's lap.

"Then I feel as if I must tell you what I saw in the Realms last week that drove me to my…" Gemma paused to examine herself, "…madness." She took another sip of tea and starred out the window as a tear slowly fell from her eye and ran down her cheek, she didn't even flinch. It was quiet unlike Gemma to not even put forth an effort to surpress her tears or at least hide them! And yet here she sat before us allowing a stream of tears to run down her face.

"Gemma…" Ann began cautiously "Gemma it's quite alright whatever it is that is troubling you…"

"Katrik." Was all she managed to choke out before breaking into a manic sob, "Katrik is alive! I saw him in the Realms!"

"That's impossible Gemma! We saw the Tree of Souls claim him! Didn't we Ann?" Ann just sat there silent starring at Gemma, "Ann!?"

"Well yes we did…but we also saw Pippa die…it seems to me that nothing we see in the Realms is truly as it seems."

"This is madness! Katrik is dead!" I screamed feeling defeated, "Gemma you…you must have been over taken by your nerves…being in the Realms again and all. You were thinking of him and must have just…imagined him." I said switching to a more motherly tone. This instantly silenced Gemma's tears and she turned fierce.

"No Felicity. I know what I saw and I saw Katrik. I went to the Tree of Souls to say my final goodbye to him but when I touched my hands to the bark of the tree I was overtaken by it…it's power filled me and I was in the tree again, just like when I went in with Eugenia Spence…except it wasn't the late Headmistress that was there waiting for me when I entered…it was Katrik." Her voice broke when she said his name.

"Gemma…are…are you sure?" Ann asked in shock.

"Yes. He told me that the Realms are in danger…and I asked him to return with me to the real world and he said no." She began to quietly cry again, "he said that he had to stay there…to protect the Tree of Souls… to make sure the magic wasn't misused ever again. He wouldn't come….he wouldn't come back with me….he's right there and I still can't be with him." Gemma dropped her head into her hands and began to sob, Ann quickly took her post and began to comfort her as I rose and moved towards the window. Everytime we think we finally have the Realms figured out it brings us a new surprise! It seems as if we will never be able to solve any of the mysteries of the Realms!

"Ann." I whispered, Ann looked up and I motioned for her to stand next to me. She quickly offered Gemma a few more words of comfort and then followed me into the next room.

"What do you make of all this?" Ann asked me once I had shut the door.

"If you ask me I do believe that she has seen Katrik but we have to make her believe that she hasn't."

"But Fee…why? If Katrik is really still alive in the Realms then we should go form an alliance with him at once! Not pretend he's not there."

"Don't you see Ann? It's all so clear! Oh yes Katrik is there but it could be a trick! For all we know the dark magic has already taken root in Katrik and he's just trying to deceive us."

"But how can that be? All the dark Winterlands magic left when we destroyed the creatures and Eugenia Spence."

"But did we really? We thought Pippa was dead but she wasn't, we thought Eugenia Spence was dead! And now we thought Katrik was dead but he wasn't! Keep in mind Ann, Pippa and Eugenia both turned into dark creatures possessed by the magic, what's preventing this from happening to Katrik?" Ann had grown deathly solemn as I spoke but I had to continue, "nothing. The only thing that Gemma can focus on is that it's Katrik, just like how I could only focus on that it was Pippa even though she was clearly over taken by the dark magic. No we must prevent Gemma from making my same mistakes and stop her from quite possibly putting us, magic and mortal creatures, in danger. We have to convince Gemma that Katrik wasn't really there so she will not allow herself to be deceived by him."

"But how Fee?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is that we can't allow her to enter the Realms…not like this."

"But we must return eventually."

"I know Ann, just not yet. It's not safe yet." The door creaked open and me and Ann turned to see Gemma entering under the doorframe, "Gemma Darling are you alright?"

"Yes…I've…composed myself. But listen I've decided that we must speak to someone who has more knowledge on the Realms than ourselves, I have to admit I feel quite lost now. I don't know what to do. A few weeks ago I was content living a normal life again and now this…we need help. No more going it alone."

"I agree!" I jumped in nudging Ann in the process.

"That's a good idea Gemma." Ann added weakly, she obviously wasn't completely on board with my plan to deceive Gemma but that would change. Hearing our agreement Gemma instantly brightened, I could almost see her gain back some of her strong will power that I had missed in these past days. "But who are we going to go and see? There aren't exactly a lot of experts on the Realms just running around." I could have killed Ann for saying that.

"Well Circe…I mean Miss Moore, Miss McCleethy, My Mother are all dead so that leaves-"

"Fowlson and Miss Nightwing" I cut in.

"Which will it be?" we all starred at each other a moment longer and then we began to pack our bags to leave for Spence Academy For Young Ladies.


	4. Chapter 4

**Forbidden Desires Chapter 4**

The train ride to Spence seemed endless. Ann sat still as a statue the entire time concentrating on her needlework. Funny how Ann escaped her fate as a governess yet she still carried on as if she were one sometimes. Fee in contrast had been restless the entire ride babbling on about all that she had seen traveling and how different the world had become while we had been locked away behind the walls of Spence during our youth. Much to Ann's satisfaction and mine Felicity finally fell silent once she was overcome by sleep. I needed the silence, I still hadn't completely wrapped around my mind what had happened in the Realms… I know I had seen Katrik…hadn't I? I must have…I spoke to him…and what about my dream the day before? Dreams are never just dreams…was Katrik trying to send me a message through my dreams or was it someone else…someone who wants me to believe that it was Katrik…someone who wants me to believe that it's really Katrik in the Tree of Souls- I quickly shook my head trying to clear my mind. It was too much…too much for me alone at least.

"Ann? Ann?" I called her to attention urgently, she finally responded after she finished the stitch she was currently concentrating on.

"Yes Gemma, what is it?"

"Do you…do you really believe that I saw Katrik in the Realms the other day?" Ann sucked in a breath of air and stared out the train window for a few seconds before she answered slowly, choosing her words carefully.

"I believe you did see Katrik, there is no doubt in my mind that he's in the Tree of Souls. But listen Gemma," suddenly Ann's voice became hurried and she nervously glanced over at Felicity before continuing, " Gemma you must listen I do believe you but Fee-" the color drained from Ann's face and she quickly stopped talking as Felicity stirred and got up.

"Are we at Spence yet?" Felicity asked between yawns. I quickly checked the window and saw the train station coming into view.

"Almost, won't be long now."

"Good." Fee said as she rolled over and went back to sleep. With that Ann and I sat in an uncomfortable silence until we reached the station.

"Finally solid land and fresh air!" Fee screamed as she jumped off the train and landed on the Station concrete.

"Next stop Spence." I said with more reluctance than excitement as I headed towards a taxi.

"Go ahead and call a taxi won't you Gemma darling? Me and Ann here will catch up with you in a moment." Fee said giving me her best innocent impression, it was obvious she didn't have pure intentions but I didn't have the energy to put up a fight so I continued to the taxis alone.

Felicity's POV

I waited until Gemma was out of sight before turning hostile and grabbing Ann's arm, "what were you trying to do there on the train Ann? You were right about to tell Gemma about our plan weren't you?" I snarled at her.

"I'm s-s-s-orry Fee… I- I-I just think G-G-Gemma should know, I don't want to t-t-trick her."

"Just shut up and stick to the plan, Gemma will thank us in the end alright?"

"Al-al-alright Felicity."

"Good. Come on now Gemma's waiting." I said sweetly as I walked toward Gemma.

"Right, whatever you Felicity." Ann said quickly following Felicity out of fear rather than genuine excitement for what the following days would hold.


End file.
